Highlights
- Pokemon designers draw design inspiration from real humans throughout history, such as famous magicians and boxers.
- Kadabra is based on British illusionist Uri Geller, known for bending spoons with his mind.
- Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan’s designs are influenced by famous kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura and boxer Hiroyuki Ebihara, respectively.
It’s commonly expected for Pokemon to be inspired by animals, plants, or even mythological creatures. But, occasionally, the designers at Game Freak create Pokemon that are actually based on real humans from all throughout history, whether they have been long gone or they’re still alive to this day.
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While it’s logical to think that this may be one of the least conventional sources of inspiration for Pokemon, some of the most iconic creatures in the entire franchise were created with this reasoning. More often than not, it is not just a small or meaningless reference, but a Pokemon’s entire concept can be chalked up to someone famous in the real world. Here are some of the most interesting cases.
9 Kadabra
Uri Geller
This entire evolutionary line has names that allude to famous magicians or illusionists: Abra is called Casey, in reference to Edgar Cayce, and Alakazam is called Foodin, in reference to Harry Houdini. While this doesn’t mean that these figures influenced their designs and concepts, it’s obviously the case for the middle evolution, Kadabra.
With its Japanese name being Yungerer and its ability to bend spoons with its psychic powers, this Pokemon is based on Uri Geller, a British illusionist whose main act consisted of bending the same utensil with his mind. This unfortunately led to Geller suing Nintendo for using his likeness without his permission.
8 Hitmonlee
Tadashi Sawamura
While it’s commonly believed that Hitmonlee is based on Bruce Lee, this reference only exists in its English name, and it doesn’t represent the intentions of the original Japanese designers. It turns out that Hitmonlee’s name in that language is Sawamular, which is an allusion to a famous Japanese kickboxer known as Tadashi Sawamura.
This reference makes much more sense, since Hitmonlee is known as the Kicking Pokemon who represents kickboxing in general, and Sawamura is often considered one of the greatest kickboxing champions in all of Japan, a master who even had some signature kick-based moves of his own.
7 Hitmonchan
Hiroyuki Ebihara
The same is true for Hitmonlee’s counterpart, Hitmonchan. After all, this Pokemon is named after Jackie Chan in English, which never made any sense, since he’s not a boxer at all. Hitmonchan’s Japanese name is Ebiwalar, in reference to the iconic boxer from Japan known as Hiroyuki Ebihara.
Just like Tadashi Sawamura and kickboxing, Hiroyuki Ebihara is considered one of the best boxers in the history of the sport, not only in Japan. He has held many titles and won many championships, so it makes sense that the designers at Game Freak created Hitmonchan in his honor.
6 Snorlax
Kōji Nishino
According to Game Freak, the appearance and gluttony of Snorlax were directly inspired by game designer Kōji Nishino. Even its Japanese name, Kabigon, is derived from Nishino’s office nickname, Kirby, which in itself was a reference to the Nintendo video game character of the same name.
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The similarities between Snorlax and Nishino are quite evident, and the fact that such an important Pokemon is based on someone who actually worked in these games is a fun piece of trivia. What’s even better is that Kōji Nishino has appeared as an NPC who can be fought in Pokemon Black 2 & White 2, with Snorlax being the strongest Pokemon on his team.
5 Wobbuffet
Hayashiya Sanpei I
Wobbuffet is a goofy Pokemon that is inspired by many aspects of Japanese culture, which means some fans may not truly comprehend it at first. While it is based on Okiagari-koboshi dolls, as expected, its Japanese name, Sonans, reveals another major source of inspiration: Hayashiya Sanpei I.
Sanpei was a beloved Japanese comedian whose catchphrase was “Sō nansu, okusan!” which translates to “That’s the way it is, madam!” It’s not just Wobbuffet’s name, but its entire appearance is also an homage to Hayashiya Sanpei, who was known for touching his forehead with a confused expression while he was performing.
4 Empoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte
Because of the Japanese origins of the Pokemon franchise, it’s expected to have many creatures based on important figures from that country. However, many others are inspired by historical figures from other places, as is the case with Empoleon, the Water Starter from Sinnoh who’s based on Napoleon Bonaparte.
Unlike Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, the famous French emperor is not referenced exclusively in its English name, since this Pokemon is known as Emperte in Japanese, a portmanteau of Emperor and Bonaparte. All of this is also evident in its appearance, with the design of its body being reminiscent of Napoleon’s iconic attire.
3 Emboar
Zhang Fei
The Fire Starter from Unova embodies a lot of different aspects of Chinese culture & mythology, like the fictional character Zhu Bajie, from Journey to the West. However, artist Ken Sugimori confirmed that Emboar was also inspired by the Chinese politician and warlord, Zhang Fei, known from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
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There’s even an additional detail that, if intentional on Game Freak’s part, is a morbid reference to Zhang Fei’s demise, seeing he was decapitated by his subordinates. Meanwhile, Emboar has a ring of fire on its neck that separates its head from its body in a similar fashion.
2 Obstagoon
Gene Simmons/KISS
Pokemon Sword & Shield introduced Galarian forms of Zigzagoon and Linoone, along with a brand-new regional evolution known as Obstagoon. Because of its black & white color scheme, long tongue, rebellious personality, and the fact that it is part of an in-game rock band known as The Maximizers, fans quickly noticed how this Pokemon is based on Gene Simmons from the band KISS.
Obstagoon was designed by James Turner, who used to be the only foreign designer at Game Freak, so it’s most likely that this reference was 100% intentional. This is also one of those curious instances in which it is confirmed that the person referenced is fully aware of their likeness being used for a Pokemon, since Gene Simmons commented on it on Twitter a few years ago. Although, unlike Uri Geller, he doesn’t seem to have any problem with Obstagoon’s existence.
1 Mr. Rime
Charlie Chaplin
Pokemon Sword & Shield was filled to the brim with references to British & Western culture in general, with one of the most interesting ones being Mr. Rime, the brand-new regional evolution of Mr. Mime. This Pokemon is obviously based on the Tramp, an iconic character portrayed by English actor and comedian, Charlie Chaplin.
Mr. Rime not only has a big mustache, an ice cane, and a head shaped like a top hat, but this Pokemon also has ice on its feet that makes noise when it’s tap dancing. So this is most likely an intentional reference to the fact that Chaplin was himself a tap dancer.
